Monday, September 12, 2011

This quick and dirty video recipe for grilled romaine hearts was shot on location at Tanimura & Antle, a family-owned lettuce farm we toured as part of the Get to Know a California Farmer field trip Michele and I just returned from in Carmel, CA.

The event was to introduce their website and, as the name implies, help us get to know a farmer, and that's what we did. We got a fascinating look into how lettuce gets from their farm to your table. Brian Antle, the farm’s Harvest Manager, ran the tour, and it was a joy to hear him talk with such pride about what his and the Tanimura family had created from this land.

After the tour we were treated to a wonderful lunch showing off some of the farm’s famous foliage. The grilled romaine salad you’ll see in the video was a big hit, but we also had some beautiful pizzas, as you can see below. It always feels special to eat produce that was just picked hours before.

You’ll also see a short video I did showing how the lettuce goes from dirt to final packaging on this slow-rolling mobile processing plant. You’ll have to pardon the dirty lens, as I hadn’t planned on filming in the field, and never checked it. I believe the smudge is gumbo, but there’s really no way to tell for sure. Don't let that deter you, or you'll miss a cameo by social media guru, Jay Baer, on a bed of lettuce.

After lunch we got to tour Naturipe Farms, one of the largest berry producers in the state. Our guide, Tom, did a great job of explaining all the challenges that go into growing berries, especially strawberries. I learned that organic doesn't mean that no pesticides are used. They just need to be certified pesticides, and are often the same ones used in conventional farming. The highlight for me was his explaining how fish meal is regularly used to fertilize organic strawberries, unbeknownst to most vegans we assumed.

14 comments:

Hello chef John, would you please make some Japanese style Cheesecake for us? I remember having it as a child back in the ol' country and it still occasionally brings up fond gastronomic memories. I can't find a restaurant that serves it here in the states.

Hi Anonymous - actually the workers cover their faces as part of a tradition passed down from other generations - they do this to keep the dust and sun off their faces, not because they're using chemicals.

I have often wondered about organic especially after the European fiasco when it turned out human excrement was the fertilizer!how lucky you are to live in CA where everything can grow. The central valley farms always impress me as well as the farmer's market.

But I couldn't help but notice two things - Those are some healthy looking pizza (haven't seen broccoli or carrot on a pizza before)! And that is such a strange tradition about women farm workers to be so covered even when they're working under the shade!